


Crazy What You'll Do For A Friend

by whosthatpokaimon



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Season/Series 03, Trans Edward Nygma, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, don't worry the transphobe gets murdered, ed's dad is an ass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28601709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whosthatpokaimon/pseuds/whosthatpokaimon
Summary: Ed has had a stressful week with an unpleasant encounter awaiting him at the end of it, but when push came to shove, Oswald was there for him. Like he always was.He just hoped it would stay that way.Title is from Daddy Issues - The Neighbourhood
Relationships: Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	Crazy What You'll Do For A Friend

**Author's Note:**

> this is just self indulgent garbage that i wrote instead of sleeping, enjoy

He didn’t even want to get out of bed that Saturday morning. Atrophied muscles over tungsten bones protested every movement he tried to make. Staring at the endless abyss of space in the ceiling, he tried to collect his thoughts and pulled himself out of the silken sheets provided to him by his best friend.

Being a Chief of Staff was harder than he expected it to be. As he stood, he pushed his hands into the small of his own back in a vain attempt to crack it. He sighed as even his own spine refused to be on his side this week. His thin white t-shirt hung loosely over his thin form, plaid briefs hugging his hips. He always hated that about his body. He hated a lot of things about his body, but his curves had to be the biggest outlier.

He passed the mirror that he constantly refused to look at in the mornings on his way towards the stained dark oak dresser, pulling open the top drawer. He searched for a moment, the drawer in question for once being very disorganized. Oils, scissors, handkerchiefs, pills… Ah, there it was. Pulling the syringe from its carefully crafted case, he jabbed it into the cork of the small bottle it rested next to. He grabbed one of the medical wipe packets he kept in that drawer and cleaned a spot along his inner thigh as he pulled at the top of the syringe. Making sure there was no suspended oxygen in the syringe, he gave it a small squeeze before injecting himself with the liquid.

He chanced a glance at the mirror on his way to the closet. His hair curled as it fell in his face. It was getting too long. Too long, too long, he needed to cut it. He needed to cut it right now. No, not right now. He was getting distracted. He could go a couple more days without a cut and he can get it done professionally when he was in the mood to leave the house.

He turned his gaze to the intricately made piece of fabric haplessly discarded on the floor the previous night. He pulled off his t-shirt and avoided looking at himself as he picked up the fabric. He ran his fingers along the mesh lining the inside. He frowned at the thought that he had to wear this every day. Couldn’t have just chosen what he wanted to be when he was born. Couldn’t decide for himself. Couldn’t be normal.

He pulled on the binder and punched the wall next to the mirror, walking away in search of his favorite suit.

* * *

“Ed, are you okay?”

Ed looked up from the empty bottom of his drink glass, eyebrows pinched together as he was pulled from thought. His senses came back to him and he could hear the loud music and clicking of shoes on the floor as couples danced and partied, hoots and whistles emerging from the group of interns. Oswald sat across from him in the bench seat.

They were at a New Year’s party, taking place at a club that had been rented out for the night by Oswald. All of the staff at City Hall and one friend each were invited to hang out, drink, and have a good time to celebrate the end of another year.

Oswald looked at him with concern, waving a hand in front of Ed’s face, “Earth to Nygma.”

Ed blinked and smiled before he responded, “Sorry, I was just-” he cleared his throat as his voice reached an unacceptable pitch, “I was just lost in thought, is all.”

“At a party?” Oswald gasped in fake disbelief. Ed only shook his head and chuckled at Oswald’s antics.

“Parties aren’t my scene. Especially not when the entirety of City Hall-  _ and then some-  _ Are bumping and grinding like teenagers on prom night,” Ed spat out his last sentence with a distasteful tone, like the words put a horrible flavor in his mouth. And, in a way, it did. He refilled his glass with the champagne at their table and downed it, drowning out anything else he wanted to say about the staff. The interns, specifically. Always gossiping like high school girls. Say anything too loud and the rumors spread like a virus during flu season.

“But you’ve been out of it all day. Something on your mind?”

“Yeah, this whole week has just been…” he groaned as he struggled to find an adjective horrible enough to describe the past few days, rubbing his eyes behind his glasses, “It’s just been causing me a lot of stress recently.”

“We did have quite the busy week, didn’t we? What with the GCPD running around like raccoons, Butch’s recent proof of disloyalty, and most of my staff taking the entire week off for New Year’s left us with more work than we could handle,” Oswald agreed with a sigh, his fingers dragging along the edge of his champagne glass. Ed thought about his hands a lot. How they could stab a man with reckless abandon one moment, but then carefully touch Ed the next, whether it be a small pat on the back between his shoulder blades or a quick rub along his upper arm. Dangerous, yet surprisingly gentle. And they were only gentle for him. Oswald filled his glass before raising it with a toothy grin, “Well, the week has finally come to an end, and so has this year. To new beginnings.”

Ed smiled back, forcefully, and clinked his glass with Oswald’s, “To new beginnings.”

They both drank down more of the bubbly liquid, Ed growing numb to the taste. The silence returned and Ed felt his mind cloud from the alcohol. Maybe he should finally tell Oswald. No, he couldn’t. Ever since he ran away to Gotham, he never mentioned a single thing about his past. He entered Gotham as a man and as a means of completely forgetting his own past in the first place. He especially didn’t want to have to leave again because Oswald pushed him away. Anyone he knew believed he was cisgendered, either on one side of the gender spectrum, which were all the parasites back home, or the other, which included everyone else. He intended to keep it that way.

His thoughts were interrupted by Oswald once again when he took the silence as Ed feeling uneasy rather than anxious.

“You didn’t have to come if you didn’t want to,” Oswald mused, leaning forward with a frown. Ed only smiled and nudged the other man with his elbow.

“Well, I’m the Chief of Staff, I have to be here for my mayor, right?” Oswald didn’t respond and silence dragged on between them for a couple of seconds before Ed looked back down at the table, “Okay, fine. I came because I… wanted to spend time with you. And, if you are at this party, then I am, too.”

Oswald was apparently stunned into silence this time because when Ed looked back up, Oswald’s jaw was practically hitting the table. The sight made Ed laugh. His mind, though hazy, trailed to more… intricate imagery. Those soft lips on his own, plush clouds pulling him back to Earth and bringing him back to sobriety. His cheeks flushed, but he hid his embarrassment to reach over and clamp Oswald’s jaw shut for him. Oswald simply smiled.

“Sorry, I’m not used to hearing that people actually want to be around me.”

“You’re my best friend, of course I want to be around you,” Ed frowned. Now it was Oswald’s turn to blush.

“Well, if you’re really serious about that…” Oswald’s eyes fluttered as he looked down with a bashful smile. The expression in turn made Ed smile.

“I am serious about that. I would do anything for you,” Ed reached out to hold Oswald’s hand in his and it felt like his nerves were lit on fire where their skin came into contact, “You can always count on me.”

It suddenly felt like the world around them fell away, their gazes locked onto each other. Blown wide pupils, sharp green piercing dark brown, and a quick flit down to each other’s lips. Ed’s heart was racing. He didn’t even realize he had leaned forward until his back was at an uncomfortable angle as it pushed his torso against the table.

And just like that, the world came rushing back when Ed heard a voice behind him call out. It was very distant, but distinct enough for Ed’s hearing to pinpoint it exactly.

“Jane!”

Ed froze. He hadn’t heard that name in  _ years. _ Why was his  _ father _ here, in a rented-out club in Gotham, of all places? He tried to ignore it, like he always did, tried to bring himself back to the moment, but his discomfort was obvious when Oswald pointed it out.

“Ed, what’s wrong?”

Ed shook his head with a smile, clearing his throat, “Nothing, Oswald. I’m fine.”

Nothing was fine, especially when he felt a heavy hand clap down onto his shoulder. Couldn’t ignore it now.

“Well well well, look at you. I haven’t seen you since you left,” the gruff voice spoke behind Ed. Ed didn’t turn to look at the man, only started another glass of champagne.

“Leave me alone,” Ed muttered as he drank from his newly-filled glass. Oswald looked between them with confusion.

“I’m sorry, do you know this man?” Oswald spoke in Ed’s direction, but he didn’t give a response. He only waited for the moment that would never come where his dad would just  _ leave _ without causing trouble. Said male shook Ed’s shoulder with a chuckle.

“This here is my daughter, Jane. I’m Dennis Nashton, a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mayor,” he held out a hand that Oswald didn’t shake. His words only served to confuse Oswald more. Ed wanted nothing but to shrink away, to curl up and fade from the conversation.

“I think there’s been a bit of a mix-up here, sir. This is my Chief of Staff, Ed-” Oswald was cut off by a whistle from Ed’s father.

“Wow, a female Chief of Staff, you never see that happen, do you?”

Ed felt his blood boil in his veins as he white-knuckle gripped the neck of his champagne glass. He spoke again at just the right volume for Dennis to hear, but not Oswald, “How did you even recognize me?”

“I know my kid when I see her,” Dennis whispered back. Oswald began to grow irritated with this man’s persistent presence.

“I don’t know who or where this  _ Jane _ you’re talking about is, but this is my Chief of Staff, Edward Nygma, and I command you to get your hands off of him this instant,” Oswald slammed his fist onto the table. Dennis’s kind front quickly faded at the name and pronoun use.

“Still pretending to be a boy, I see?” he forced Ed to turn around by pulling on his shoulder, his other hand coming up to grip at Ed’s chin and examine it closely. Ed could do nothing but allow his face to be jerked around by the man. He tried to hide his fear, but his expression gave him away when his eyes started to water, “Changed your name and everything. What, are you ashamed of our family line now? Couldn’t call yourself a Nashton anymore?”

Ed’s gaze found Oswald in his peripherals, where confusion turned into realization, then pure rage.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I must assure you that  _ he _ is not pretending,  _ hands off!”  _ Oswald practically shouted, standing abruptly and clutching his cane for balance.

“You’re not her dad, you haven’t watched her blossom into a beautiful young woman only to  _ throw it all away  _ and play this little fucking game of ‘I want to be a man’!”

Ed laid limp as his father’s hands moved to the lapels of his suit coat, shaking him. Ed’s tears spilled from his eyes, though he tried to maintain a defiant expression. If only this asshole knew what kind of shit he was in. Everyone was watching them now, a sea of eyes swallowing the visual information given to them. The music stopped and whispers traveled through the crowd.

_ Nygma is trans? _

_ Wow, this guy is an asshole… _

_ Dennis is his dad? Gross. I feel so bad for him. _

_ I wouldn’t have invited Dennis if I knew he was so... transphobic. _

Fucking interns. Ed never felt more humiliated in his life. Like a dam breaking, his body completely shut down and he was left limp and sobbing in the hold of the man that created him.

“You were always a disgrace to our family, anyway. I’ll never know how you came out of my gene pool,  _ freak _ .”

The calm was done and over with, now he gets to deal with the storm. Oswald huffed and angrily hobbled over to grip the collar of Dennis’s ill-fitting dress shirt, “May we have a word outside, or do I need to get security involved?”

As Oswald threatened the man, the crowd began to chant.

_ Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass! _

Oswald brought a swift knee to Dennis’s crotch once his guard was down and that served to do well enough as the man let go of Ed and fell to his knees in pain. Oswald then successfully dragged Dennis  _ by the ear _ out the back doors. Everything was silent as Ed stood and quickly followed them, but the party picked back up once there were only a few minutes until the new year. When Ed got outside, Oswald was throwing his father into the wall repeatedly and smacking him with his cane. Dennis looked like he went through hell and came back barely alive when Oswald finally let go. He was writhing and shaking as blood poured from a giant gash in his scalp. Pulsing scrapes and blossoming bruises scattered the rest of his frame.

“Wish I could say it was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Nashton, but it was quite the opposite,” Oswald remarked as he removed the concealed knife in his cane. Dennis could barely sob out a response, wind knocked out of him from being smacked into the wall. It was something along the lines of an apology, but oh, was he too far gone for that to work now. Ed smiled a malicious smile as he watched Dennis’s fearful eyes turn towards him and the loud party-goers could still be heard inside, counting down the seconds until midnight.

_ Five! Four! Three! Two! One! _

As everyone inside cheered at the arrival of a new year, Oswald smirked down at Dennis, “Happy New Year. A shame you won’t live to see much of it.”

With that, Oswald slashed his knife across Dennis’s neck and buried the blade deep into his chest, twisting and turning to cause even more pain and damage. Blood filled his mouth as he gargled and coughed, crimson life waters flowing from his wounds. It made Ed laugh to watch his shitstain of a father fall off of his last string.

Once the high of watching the murder passed, all that was left was panic. Oswald knew now.  _ Everybody  _ knew.

Oswald dragged the body behind a dumpster and sheathed his knife before turning around with a grin, clapping his hands together, “Alright,  _ Mr. Nygma, _ I believe now that  _ that  _ mess has been dealt with, we can start the new year with more drinks.”

Ed stayed silent. He almost didn’t hear Oswald speak. He dissociated and fidgeted with his hands at his sides as his gaze stayed downcast. He already knew how Oswald reacted to the whole thing, but what if he only reacted like that because his dad was abusing Ed? Oswald brought his face into Ed’s view, not having to crouch too far to get to the correct angle.

“Ed?”

Ed felt himself tear up again and Oswald brought a hand to Ed’s shoulder. He flinched at the touch and Oswald immediately withdrew. Ed took a shaky breath, “You did that for me…”

“Of course I did that for you, you’re my best friend, too,” Oswald’s voice grew soft and his hand slowly came back up. He looked at Ed, asking for permission with his eyes, and Ed nodded. Oswald carefully placed his hand back on Ed’s shoulder and it was like an angel’s touch. Such a stark contrast from the now dead man.

“Does… does that mean you don’t…” Ed stuttered, failing to hold back more of his tears. Oswald patiently waited for him to get his words out. After a moment or two, Ed tried again with more success, “Y-You don’t care that I’m…”

Ed couldn’t finish the sentence, but it seemed like he didn’t have to. Oswald laughed and shook his head, “Edward, why would I care about that? Did that vermin really affect you that much?”

Ed didn’t answer the question. He couldn’t answer the question. He fell into Oswald and wrapped his arms around him, desperate for positive attention. He sobbed as he felt Oswald hug him back. They stayed like that for a few moments before Oswald pulled away, bringing a thumb to brush away Ed’s tears. Dangerous, yet surprisingly gentle.

“I don’t care about who you used to be, I love you for  _ you,  _ Ed,” Oswald slapped one of his hands over his own mouth as he realized what he just said. Ed gaped at the man. Oswald shook his head and waved his hands in front of him, red as a beet, “No, no, I’m sorry, that’s not- that’s not what I-”

Ed silenced him by pressing his lips firmly against Oswald’s. His eyes fluttered closed and his heart rate spiked. His pulse was thrumming in his ears. The feeling almost overwhelmed him when Oswald kissed back.

They were moving in tandem, attracting each other like two atoms of opposite charges, pulling each other closer. It felt like that first refreshing cup of coffee in the morning, like a soft welcoming mattress after a long day of work. It left like  _ heaven. _

And he was only pulled back down from it when Oswald pulled away for breath, stars in his eyes reflecting Ed’s own feelings.  _ Love. _

“I love you for you, too,” Ed whispered with a breathless laugh.

“I don’t care about who you used to be because all that matters is who you are now. I didn’t fall in love with Ms. Nashton, I fell in love with  _ Mr. Nygma.” _ Oswald sealed this claim with another quick kiss that made Ed’s eyes water once more, “The most handsome man I’ve ever seen. Dark eyes, shark cheekbones, broad shoulders…”

Oswald ran his hands across Ed’s face and torso as he continued to shower him with compliments.

“Edward Nygma, Edward Nygma, Edward Nygma…” Oswald placed a kiss on each part of Ed’s face every time he repeated his name and hearing it spoken so endearingly only made him feel fuzzier.

“Oswald…” Ed breathed out as he refused to let himself start crying again.

“Yes, Edward?” Oswald smiled up at him. He was always so pretty whenever he smiled, especially when it was genuine.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” Oswald laughed, a release of positive emotion, “I love you  _ so much…” _

“What does this make us, then?” Ed asked, worried.

“Boyfriends? If… you’re okay with that?” Oswald looked just as worried, but Ed’s own worry slipped away as he smiled.

“I would love that.”

Oswald’s eyes lit up, “I’d be the luckiest man in Gotham to have you as a boyfriend.”

“No,  _ I’d _ be the luckiest man in Gotham to have  _ you _ as a boyfriend,” Ed giggled in response.

Oswald stroked Ed’s cheek with the back of his hand as they stared longingly into each other’s eyes. They stayed like that for a moment before Oswald turned back to the door, where no doubt the staff (the  _ interns) _ were spreading gossip about their previous scene.

“We should go back inside and address the situation,” Oswald’s hand moved down to one of Ed’s and he eagerly held it as he was dragged back to the doors. When Oswald burst open the doors, Ed’s hand still in his, the party froze once more.

“Alright, listen up! There will be absolutely  _ no talk _ of this incident. No work chatter, no press, nothing. Anything that has happened between Edward, Dennis, and I is to be completely forgotten. Did I make myself clear?”

Ed smiled behind Oswald as the crowd looked at each other and nodded, a series of ‘understood’s and ‘crystal clear’s emerging from the silence. Oswald grinned.

“Good! You may proceed with your new year!”

Ed’s smile turned into a dopey grin at Oswald’s defense. Oswald looked back at him with a similar expression, “There, that should shut them up.”

“Thank you, Oswald.”

They walked back to their table and Oswald waited until they sat down before he responded, “Anything for my new boyfriend. Also, if you need anything, like a binder or a packer, just let me know and I can get it for you. Anything you need.”

Ed’s eyes widened, “You’d… You’d really do that?”

“Of course, I want you to be as comfortable as possible being yourself,” Oswald reached across the table to squeeze at Ed’s hand, bringing an even wider smile to his face.

He really was the luckiest man in Gotham.


End file.
